The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVI takes place on May 13 and 14, at our new Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District. The auction includes more than 200 of the world's finest watches. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sale over the next few weeks.
– By Logan Baker
Henry Graves is famously considered one of the most important and influential watch collectors in history. Born in 1868, the American banker and financier assembled one of the most significant collections of timepieces in the 20th century, even commisioning the Patek Philippe Supercomplication in the 1920s, which would eventually become the most complicated pocket watch in history when it was completed in 1933 – a record it maintained until 1989, when Patek Philippe revealed the Calibre 89. It's believed by many that Graves' friendly collecting competition with James Ward Packard (the automobile magnate was another early American collector) helped save Patek Philippe from bankruptcy during the Great Depression.
Patek Philippe enjoys saying in its famous advertisment “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” Rarely has the slogan been as true than with the Graves family. Henry's daughter became the custodian of his collection after his death in 1953 at the age of 85, who then passed it on to her daughter, Reginald "Pete" H. Fullerton Jr.
Like grandfather, like grandson, Fullerton was a passionate watch enthusiast who maintained the Graves' family collection while also adding to it. Fullerton maintained detailed records of every watch in the collection, kept almost all of their original accompanients, and naturally insisted that their cases and dials be left untouched during any cleanings or servicings. Fullerton died in March of 2012, and at his request, a large portion of the Graves' family collection was sold at a New York auction in June of the same year.
The Graves' family is known for its relationship with and love for Patek Philippe, and that didn't change when Fullerton was in charge of the collection. One of the many watches he personally owned during his life was a platinum ref. 5050 that he acquired in 2003, one year after the reference was discontinued. It was included in the original 2012 auction, where it sold for USD $134,500, and then came to market for a second time at Phillips Hong Kong in 2020, where it sold for HKD $882,000. It returns to Phillips Hong Kong on May 24, 2023, during the Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVI, with an estimate of HKD $500,000 - 1,000,000 (approx. USD $64,100 - 128,000).
The ref. 5050 was introduced at Baselworld in 1993 as Patek Philippe's first serial-production perpetual calendar wristwatch with moon-phase and retrograde date. The reference remained in production for nine years, until 2002, with 18k yellow, pink and white gold options offered, in addition to platinum like Fullerton's watch; all cases were built by the casemaker Favre-Perret and feature the engraved casemaker key of "115" under one of the lugs. It's estimated that only 1,100 examples of the ref. 5050 were created in all case metals.
According to research, approximately 150 examples were created in platinum, spread out across three different series in the ref. 5050's lifespan. The original first series of the reference had thin painted Roman numerals for the hour markers, while the second series that began in 1995 is featured applied baton indexes with “Automatic” printed in script underneath the moonphase. The third series, which Fullerton's platinum example is part of, is the rarest, with applied Roman numerals and no “Automatic” signature on the dial. Only 14 examples of the ref. 5050P-018 have been identified to date, including this one.
Combining its rarity, prominent provenance and remarkable condition, PHILLIPS is proud to offer this impressive ref. 5050 to the public for the third time. Patek Philippe's perpetual calendars are second to none, and this is an irresistible opportunity to own a piece of the company's recent past, paired with one-of-a-kind horological provenance.
You can learn more about and register to bid in the Hong Kong Watch Auction: XVI by visiting our online catalog.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade working in watch-focused media, reporting on every aspect of the industry. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
Recommended Reading
The Imperial Patek Philippe: A Short Documentary